G/F class lakester in Wichita, Kansas

[ggl205]

Good luck on the glass work.

I could have used a fiberglass pro like you out here, tauruck. First time doing this sort of thing. We made it strong, now we have to make it pretty.

John

[MAYOMAN]

John, now I understand how you determined the length for your lakester body. The distance from the overhead door to the back wall.
As an old Indy 500 fan, it reminds me of George Salih's comments on why he built the Indy-winning Belond AP Special "laydown" Offy roadster. It won in 1957 (Sam Hanks) and 1958 (Jimmy Bryan). He said the nose had to fit under his work bench in the garage. I hope your car has the same success.

[ggl205]

Dick, you reckoned correctly. The nose protrudes into the lower shelf of the storage rack and 1/8" clearance at the garage door. I had to make he chassis in two parts for roughly the same space reason as well as transporting the car on a short 8', double deck trailer. Space in my garage is at such a premium that I had to build the body over the complete car underneath. I envy guys with real shop space.

John

[ggl205]

Well, today was the day to pull body off chassis and wouldn't you know, it rained. Fitting because after trying out a couple of primers, it looked like a beached whale. The task is done and now I can get back to working on the car. Just five months and counting.

John

[ggl205]

Steering finally done. Very responsive with little to no compliance. Stainless, it was a good recommendation you gave me to use a telescoping steering shaft to manage any movement in bump. Works like a charm.

John

[Speed Limit 1000]

GM parts?

[tauruck]

It looks good John. You did a nice job and by what I see that fairing paste worked well.
Keep at it. You'll make it.

Mike.

[ggl205]

GM parts?

Yes. From an older Camero, I think.

[ggl205]

It looks good John. You did a nice job and by what I see that fairing paste worked well.
Keep at it. You'll make it.

Mike.

Thank you, Mike. I have new found respect for those who work in fiberglass.

John

[Jack Gifford]

Steering rack attached to sprung axle?

[ggl205]

Steering rack attached to sprung axle?

Yes.

[Stainless1]

John, we fought bump steer after the original build... The body would change position as speed increased, Johnboy reported he could see more front tire the faster he went.... then figured out the rack on the axle would eliminate changes in toe and bump.... that was fixed in about 86 or 87.  We found the old collapsible Camaro  parts were easy to find in junkyards.  I think you can buy D and double D male and female parts on Ebay to make your own. 
Looks like you are making progress 

[ggl205]

Hi Stainless:

Yes, I found a brand new collapsible steering shaft for a Camero on eBay. I think these were used for steering wheel adjustment but it works perfectly on the lakester to accommodate any fore/aft movement created by trailing arm arcs in bump and axle tilt. If you would like to see toe change in bump, take a look at a Formula Vee. It radically goes positive to negative and back again under braking and cornering. Scared the heck out of me the first time I saw it from the cockpit.

Progress is definitely being made. I will send in WoS entry fee next month and hope you have not raised the G class NA bar too high at SpeedWeek. With a little luck, I should have the car ready for dyno testing and corner weight scaling by late June or July. My biggest problem to date is renting a tow rig (I will take you up on use of a trailer) and very likely a push car as well.  

John

[Rex Schimmer]

John,
Regarding a tow car, my friend, Steve Nelson, G/GL class, rented a nice new Ford pick up from Budget (I think) and it was $30/day and he told them it was going to Bonneville and they had no problem with that!

Rex

[ggl205]

John,
Regarding a tow car, my friend, Steve Nelson, G/GL class, rented a nice new Ford pick up from Budget (I think) and it was $30/day and he told them it was going to Bonneville and they had no problem with that!

Rex

Rex, did Steve say how much per mile Budget charged for the truck rental? Out here in Wichita, they want 72 per mile. Total less gas would set me back $2200.

John